Janice Fisher

Q: Voices on iMac when I log on; must restart to stop

This is a very odd situation.  I have a new iMac.  Twice during the last few days when I wake up the computer to use it, I get the strangest sound.....it is like about 50 people all talking at once!  It is really strange.  I have checked everything: iTunes is not on, there is no obvious source for the sound.  To stop it I have to restart.   I thought it could be the "text to speech' or whatever that is...I have never used it so don't know anything about it.  Thei weird thing is that it is not one voice...it is many. 

 

Has anyone heard of this?  Any idea what it could be? 

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6), iMac Intel

Posted on May 21, 2013 1:39 AM

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Q: Voices on iMac when I log on; must restart to stop

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  • by andyBall_uk,

    andyBall_uk andyBall_uk Jun 20, 2013 7:04 AM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 7 (20,495 points)
    Jun 20, 2013 7:04 AM in response to Janice Fisher

    as an admin user - check Console - all messages for the time this happened.

    I forget, so sorry if mentioned earlier - but can you leave wifi off & connect just by cable ?

     

    I'd read up & test  recording using quicktime player (File - new screen recording) so that next time, you're able to show apple and/or the telco exactly what happens & what doesn't stop it.

     

    This sounds more & more like the thread I couldn't find where replacing the modem/router cured it.

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher Jun 21, 2013 6:57 PM in response to andyBall_uk
    Level 1 (101 points)
    Jun 21, 2013 6:57 PM in response to andyBall_uk

    I am thinking it has to be some interference with wifi, router, cable or something. I have not had a chance to call the cable company because I have been nursing the flu,  but that is my next step!  I think Apple has done everything it can do.  They heard the noise and did not think it was from the computer....they had never heard anything like it.  They also had their eqiupment on there so they could look at all settings and could see nothing.  It just does not make sense that it is the computer and it definitely sounds like interference.  I;m going to use your comments on here when I talk to the cable company.  I will tell them these are the "experts'" thoughts....which is not exaggerating!  Thanks for all your suggestions.

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher Jun 22, 2013 2:53 PM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 1 (101 points)
    Jun 22, 2013 2:53 PM in response to Janice Fisher

    NEW EVIDENCE:  Today I got the voices again.  This was a little different in that it sounded like a broadcast of some sort.....voices were at normal speed, etc.  I checked Activity Monitor and Core Audioed and Core serviced were registering activity.  Dashboard was quite high...when the voicea went off CA and CS went to 0 and Dashboard dropped to 3.3.  Does this mean anything?

     

    Screen Shot 2013-06-22 at 2.48.02 PM.png

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher Jun 22, 2013 3:02 PM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 1 (101 points)
    Jun 22, 2013 3:02 PM in response to Janice Fisher

    I went to Dashboard (which I NEVER use) and this is what I saw

     

    Screen Shot 2013-06-22 at 2.54.49 PM.png:

    You can't reallysee anything but that small white print below the white squares says "audio played only in Dashboard."  I get constant aggravation from Dashboard as it comes up and I try to get rid of it. I also get continual notices that Dashboard stopped and do I want to send a report to Apple.  I just ignore it.  I don't know if this has anything to do with the voices, but I think it did today.How do I get rid of this thing? And, could it have anything to do with the voices I hear on a regular basis even though the sound was different from the other voices I've been getting.  However, it did begin, as the other does, when I woke the computer up after being asleep.

     

    Message was edited by: Janice Fisher

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher Jun 22, 2013 3:12 PM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 1 (101 points)
    Jun 22, 2013 3:12 PM in response to Janice Fisher

    I checked the Dashboard Problem Report to see what it was and there sure are a lot of problems and crashes.  I have no idea what all of it means.  I couldn't even figure out how to send it to Apple.

  • by andyBall_uk,

    andyBall_uk andyBall_uk Jun 22, 2013 3:16 PM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 7 (20,495 points)
    Jun 22, 2013 3:16 PM in response to Janice Fisher

    That sounds like some dashboard widget both making the sound, and crashing...

    can you remove all of them as detailed at http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2492 ?

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Jun 22, 2013 3:24 PM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 6 (13,972 points)
    iPad
    Jun 22, 2013 3:24 PM in response to Janice Fisher

    Dashboard gets activated by either a dashboard icon key on Apple aluminum keyboards or by the one of the F keys on a keyboard.

    Can you identify which dashboard widget is responsible for the audio?

    You can disable Dashboard, altogether, in OS X System Preferences Panel.

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher Jun 22, 2013 3:44 PM in response to MichelPM
    Level 1 (101 points)
    Jun 22, 2013 3:44 PM in response to MichelPM

    There are tons of widgets on Dashboard.  I never even looked at it until today.  I think I know how to remove them:  click on one until they all start to shake, and then delete by clicking the minus icon?   I would like to disable the whole thing.  I was not able to do it on my old iMac...someone said it couldn't be disabled, but if it can, I will do it.  Should I delete the widgets first and then disable?

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher Jun 22, 2013 3:46 PM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 1 (101 points)
    Jun 22, 2013 3:46 PM in response to Janice Fisher

    Or, should I wait until I get the voices again and then delete one widget at a time to see if I can figure out which one it is.  The entire dashboard is covered with widgets.....how do they get there?  I have not added anything to Dashboard.  I think it is all the apps that are on my iPad and then synced to the iMac.

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Jun 22, 2013 3:53 PM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 6 (13,972 points)
    iPad
    Jun 22, 2013 3:53 PM in response to Janice Fisher

    I, actually, thought you can disable this, too, but sadly, couldn't find anything in System Prefs to disable it .

    There is a way to do it in the Terminal app, but I usually stay away from Terminal unless something is really straightforward and can be easily typed without error.

  • by andyBall_uk,

    andyBall_uk andyBall_uk Jun 22, 2013 3:55 PM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 7 (20,495 points)
    Jun 22, 2013 3:55 PM in response to Janice Fisher

    If you have Dashboard crash/problem reports, either 'fresh' on seen via Console application - look in them for a line like this...

    Application Specific Information:

    /Library/Widgets/some.name.wdgt/

     

    since whatever is named there may be the voices one, and certainly is the one crashing.

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Jun 22, 2013 3:57 PM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 6 (13,972 points)
    iPad
    Jun 22, 2013 3:57 PM in response to Janice Fisher

    You should be able to tell which dashboard widget is responsible for the audio and/or video by looking at it.

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher Jun 22, 2013 4:06 PM in response to MichelPM
    Level 1 (101 points)
    Jun 22, 2013 4:06 PM in response to MichelPM

    I deleted a bunch of widgets from Dashboard.  Now, when I go to Activity Monitor, Dashboard is no longer showing.  Everything else is there that is in the screen shot I posted but not Dashboard.

     

    Also, where will I find the crash report for Dashboard?  I only looked at it before when I got the notice to send it to apple because it had crashed (it crashes at least 10 times a day) but now the notice is gone and I can't find it. I wanted to see what was crashing.

  • by Janice Fisher,

    Janice Fisher Janice Fisher Jun 22, 2013 4:11 PM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 1 (101 points)
    Jun 22, 2013 4:11 PM in response to Janice Fisher

    All the widgets I delted were apps that are on my iPad and were synced.  I got those by clicking on widgets in dashboard....they all had a delete sign and I got rid of them.  There are still a bunch left...they do not have delete signs and they seen to be regular applications from my iMac.  Can I delete them, too?

     

    Also, the screen shot that sent which I found on Dashboard that says 'only play audio from Dashboard" was not just one thing, it was about 50 all stacked up on top of one another.  There were little pieces of Facebook and all kinds of things.  I had to delete them one at a time but they are gone now.  I don't know where they came from either.  I hate Dashboard and don't use it, but on this new computer, I get the notice frequently that it has crashed and I haven't touched the thing. 

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Jun 22, 2013 4:19 PM in response to Janice Fisher
    Level 6 (13,972 points)
    iPad
    Jun 22, 2013 4:19 PM in response to Janice Fisher

    Widgets in OS X Dashboard are OS X widgets and not iPad/iOS  sync'd apps.

    Completely different.

    The widget icons just look a lot like iOS app icons because they are rounded rectangles.

    Many OS X dashboard widgets do look and do many of the same things iOS apps on iDevices do.

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